Octave-coupler for organs



I (No Model.)

. J. A. SMITH.

OGTAVE COUPLER FOR ORGANS.

No. 372.772. Patented No 8, 1887.

74 6? asses J QM. QWM.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. SMITH, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOSEPH A. WARREN, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

OCTAVE-COUPLER FOR ORGANS.

EBPECIPIC'ATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 372,772, dated November 8, 1887.

Application filed April 30, 1887. Serial No. 236,711. (No model.)

$0 aZZ whom it may concern;

frame, and third, of an improved method of hanging the octave coupler.

I use the roller-coupling wires invented by A. WV. 'Wilcox, and described in his patent dated January 26, 1869.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective of a portion of my coupler, showing three of the series of roller-coupling wires '10 secured in position upon the frame F, a portion of the front and back rails being cutaway, so as to show the holes h h and the flexible fasteningf, by means of which the roller-coupling wires to are secured to the'frame F. Fig. 2 represents a cross-section of the coupler and the method of attaching to the organ-action. Fig. 3 represents a cross-section of an ordinary carrying-table, T, with the wires attached by my method. Fig. 4c shows another plan of forming the rear bearings.

In communicating the motion of any given key of the manual to'its octave-valve by means of one of the roller-coupling wires to, it is manifest that the pressure at the front bearing of the roller-coupling wire is downward, while the pressure at the rear bearing of the said wire is upward. I therefore provide a coupler-frame, F, consisting of a main rail, 1, and a back rail, r, rigidly fastened together by means of the bent metallic studs 00, Figs. 1 and 2, the main rail 1" supporting the roller-coupling wires to at their front bearings, while at their rear bearings they are secured to the under side of the back rail, 0*, which furnishes a perfect resistance to the upward pressure at the said rear bearings when the coupler is in use. Longitudinally along each of the rails r and 1-, at the place where the wires 10 have their bearings against the said rails, I secure a narrow strip of felt, so that the wires w do not impinge the wood of the rails, but have their bearings against the felted portion.

At the points where the roller-coupling wires w have their bearings against the rails r and r of the frame F, I bore holes h it through the said rails. Through these holes 7 h, I form loops Z, of any suitable flexible material,f, Fig. 1, into which loops the wires to are placed at front and rear. The loops are then drawn through suflieiently to hold the wires to their bearings against the rails and to secure each wire in its proper place in the series. The flexible material is then secured to the rails in any suitable manner. I prefer to form the loops from a continuous piece of the flexible materialf, forming one loop, then inserting the wire to be secured in position, then drawing the flexible material through, so as to fasten the wire, then forming the next loop,

at the same time taking up all the slack ma.

terial between the two loops, and so on till all the necessary loops are formed and the wires secured in position. However, ifdeeined preferable, each loop may be formed of a separate short piece of the flexible material f, the ends being secured within the holes h or to the side of the rail opposite the wire bearings.

By means of the loops'of flexible materialf the wires 10 are securely and cheaply fastened to the frame F in a manner to admit of their oscillation in use and to insure perfect freedom from squeak or rattle, as it is impossible for the wires 10 to come in contact either with the wood of the frame F or one with another.

I do not wish to be limited to the use of any particular material of which to make the flexible fasteningf. It may be a cord or braid, or it may be a wire or thin strip of any soft metal or other material, only so it is sufficiently flexible to admit of being formed into loops, as shown, and then drawn through and secured to the rails.

Fig. 3 is a section of an ordinary carryingtable, T, for roller-coupling wires, showing the wire 20 secured at its rear bearing to the carrying-table, in the same manner as at the front bearing, by means of my flexible material f, as heretofore described. In this case the flexible material f furnishes the resistance to the upward pressure of the rear bearing when the coupler is in use.

Fig. at shows another method of forming the rear bearings. D is a long strip, felted upon its under side, forming a continuous rear hearing for all the roller-coupling wires of the series. It is secured in its position, as shown, by means of the loops of the flexible material f, inclosing it at the point of the rear bearing of each of the wires of the series and properly secured to the table T, as heretofore described.

Instead of using ordinary hinges I hang my coupler on adjustable studs S, Figs. 2 and 3, which may consist either of screws, as shown in Fig. 2, or of pieces of plain wire or other material, as shown in Fig. 3, suitably set in the organ'aetion and whose tops support the coupler in its proper position and permit the oscillating motion necessary in shipping and unshippiug. Desiring to have the supporting-points of the coupler which rest upon the tops of the studs S as nearly as possible upon the same plane as the front and rear bearingsof the rollercoupling wires 10, I bore holes through the main rail 1' at points near each end of suitable size to receive the tops of the studs S and to permit the necessary oscillating motion of the coupler, and then over the tops of these holes I secure coverings c to the main rail r, the under sides of these coverings a forming the bearings which rest upon the tops of the studs S.

As all expert organmakers understand the operation of octave-couplers and their application to organs, and will readily comprehend the foregoing description of my improvements, 1 have omitted all extraneous matters.

I am aware of the pending application of J. A. \Varren, Serial No. 243,761, and do not claim, broadly, the flexible building agent for attaching coupling-wires to the platform or supporting-arm of an octave-coupler.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A coupler-frame for carrying a series of roller-coupling wires, 10, consisting of a main rail, 1', and a rear rail, 1-, suitably fastened together, the rear rail, r, being elevated a little above the plane of the upper surface of the main rail 1*, so that the wires may have their rear bearings against and be fastened to the under side of the rear rail, 1*, while their front bearings are upon the top side of and fastened to the main rail 1', as clearly shown and specitied.

2. The combination, with the series of roller-couyding wires to and a table for carrying said series of wires 20, of the felted strip D, used as a rear bearing for the series of rollercoupling wires 10 and secured in its bearing position upon the top of said wires and to the earryingtable T by means of the flexible fasteniugf, as described.

3. In combination with an organ-coupler table (fr frame, the adjusting-studs S, arranged substantially as set forth, as points upon which the coupler may be oscillated in the acts of shipping and unshipping.

JOHN A. SMITH.

Witnesses:

J. W. Bnrees, F. 1. SMITH. 

